Although the matter is reportedly still up in the air, I’m hoping the Supreme Court releases its report on the investigation of a draft opinion in last spring’s abortion case. But I doubt we’ll learn the identity of the leaker. We never do.
I consider the leak contemptible, but we mustn’t be starry-eyed. The court has leaked for most of its existence. At times there have only been hints, such as the advance word alleged to have been passed to President Franklin Roosevelt before a key 1935 decision on private gold ownership. Other disclosures have been more detailed. Either way, the leaker almost always remains unpunished.
Let’s begin in 1854, when Rep. Zedekiah Kidwell took to the House floor demanding an investigation of Justice Robert Cooper Grier for allegedly giving friends early notice of the outcome of a major case concerning rights on the Ohio River. Though the Judiciary Committee in due course cleared Grier of wrongdoing, some historians think it’s likely that he leaked. Perhaps he also spoke to the newspapers: On two of the five occasions when the case came before the justices, the New York Tribune published the outcome in advance.
